Apparatus and method for continuous processing of rayon filaments



May 28, 1957 APPARATUS Filed May 8, 1953 w. H. FURNESS 2,793,931 AND METHOD FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESSING OF RAYON FILAMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

May

y 1957 w. H. FURNESS 2,793,931

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESSING OF RAYON FILAMEINTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 8, 1953 INVENTOR. WZM/fl WM APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESSING OF RAYON FILAMENTS William H. Furness, Haddonlield, N. J.

Application May 8, 1953, Serial No. 353,881

4 Claims. (Cl. 8--151.1)

This invention relates to the treatment of textile materials and more particularly to fluid treatment of'fibrous materials and especially of yarns and filaments of freshly spun rayon.

The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved method and machine for the continuous chemi cal treatment, washing, and drying of rayon or other yarns, threads, filaments and the like. The basic dif ference between my invention and the methods and machines of the prior art will be understood from the directed away from the fixed point of winding, so that the turns of thread do not overlap but are evenly spaced from end to end of the reel; during its passage from one end of the reel to the other the thread or yarn is continuously treated by the application of chemical solutions and wash waters sprayed or dripped on the surface of the reel. In my invention a special adaptation of the common thread advancing reel is employed, the thread being wound thereon in a series of superimposed alternately reversed helices, the helical disposition being produced solely by oscillation of the thread guide; in this manner a tubular structure of yarn having a wall thickness of one quarter of an inch or more or less is built upon the reel and conveyed by the axial movement of the reel from one end thereof to the other continuously; the thread is chemically treated, washed, and dried while .in the form of the moving tube described. i Other advantages of my invention reside in the centrifugal method for washing, the novel method for drying without tension, and the small factory space required perthread or station.

Referring to the drawings accompanying this specification:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation taken through the vertical axis of the apparatus of my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view taken on line Il-II of Figure 1 showing the drying means of the apparatus.

Figure 3 is a sectional plan view taken on line -I*IIIII and shows the relationship between the fluid application means, the thread advancing reel and the wound package.

Figure 4 is a sectional plan view taken on line IV- IV in Figure 1 showing the actuating means for the thread advancing reel. 7

"Figure 5 is a sectional plan view taken on line V-V showing the supporting means for the thread advancing reel.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line VIVI in Figure 5 which shows in detail the relationship between the elements designated by reference numerals 4, 37 and 38.

The numbers set forth below and the descriptions following them refer to the corresponding reference numerals of the drawings which were briefly described above.

1, outer stationary shell or cover.

2, gutters on inner surface of outer shell 1 for collecting liquids thrown outward from yarn cake 3 by centrifugal force.

3, rotating cross-wound cake of yarn, or yarn store.

4, ribs of rotating reel which support yarn store 3 and move it continuously upward in an axial direction.

5, rotating perforated shell which supports and drives ribs of reel 4 and distributes liquids to inner surface of yarn cake.

6, raised ridges on inner circumference of shell 5 to prevent axial movement of liquid under centrifugal pressure.

7, stationary member integral with base,'containing ducts for feeding liquids to inner surface of rotating shell-5.

8, rotating tubular shaft which drives member 5.

9, rotating tubular shaft which gives axial movement to one set of reel ribs 4.

10, rotating shaft which gives axial movement to alternate set of reel ribs 4.

11, stationary thread guide.

12, oscillating guide for building yarn into cross-wound cake at lower end of reel.

13, base of machine.

14, ducts in 7 through which liquids noted to inner surface of member 5.v

15, rotary driving means.

16 and 17, mechanism for moving shafts 9 and 10 axially up and down; operated by cams (not shown).

18, spouts for drawing off liquids from gutters 2.

19, troughs for carrying away liquids flowing from spouts 18.

20, spiders for moving alternate sets of reel ribs alternately inward radially and down then outward radially and up during rotation of reel.

21, shell and exhaust duct surrounding drying area.

22, wire cage for support of yarn store on its outer surface in drying area;

23), bearings of wire cage 22.

'24, duct for moving hot air into drying chamber.

inner surface of yarn store.

26, arrows showing hot air passing through yarn store.

27, arrow indicating movement of air containing moisture into exhaust duct.

28, thread as unwound from inner surface of yarn store after drying.

29, area in which external wire support is driven by contact with rotating yarn cake.

30 and 31, drying area of yarn cake.

32, space from which hot air is distributed to the yarn.

33 and 34, washing area of yarn cake.

35, duct outlet.

36, arrow shows direction of liquid flow through yarn cake.

37, flexible hinge joints at lower end of reel ribs.

38, rings carrying lower ends of alternate sets of reel ribs.

39, pins fixed to arms 16 and 17.

. 40, thrust collars on shafts 9 and 10 to receive pins 39.

41, shafts activating arms 16 and 17.

42, perforations in sleeve 5.

arrows indicating the excursions of traversing guide 12.

44, arrows indicating the axial upward movement of the cross-wound package or store of yarn.

'45, pins fixed to the extremities of spiders.

fixed member 7.

Operation of the process of this invention is fully described as follows:

Referring to Figure l, yarn is fed to the rotating reel from guide 11, through the oscillating guide 12; the movement of guide 12 as indicated by arrows 43 causes the yarn to be wound on the lower end of reel ribs 4 in the form of superimposed opposite helices. Axial movement of reel ribs 4 carries the yarn continuously in an upward direction, away from the point of winding on. As the axial movement is slow and the winding on is rapid the yarn i stacked upon itself to form a moving hollow cylindrical tube of uniform thickness, which constitutes a yarn store suitable for continuous liquid treatment and drying.

Due to the overlapping of the strands of yarn which constitute the body of the yarn store, the yarn cannot be removed from the outside of the store. It is necessary, therefore, to unwind the yarn from the inside of the cake as follows:

The yarn store is supported internally and carried upward by the ribs 4 of the reel until it reaches a point 29 where it engages the wire cage 22 which is rotated by contact with the outer surface of the yarn. When the yarn store reaches a somewhat higher position 30 it leaves the reel ribs and is supported only by the wire cage 22. In the area 39 to 31 vertically the yarn is held against the wires of the cage by air pressure applied to the inner surface of the yarn cake or store, the air being fed into the drying chamber 32 through duct 24 at a suitable temperature and humidity content, passing therefrom through the interstices formed by the cross windings of the yarn into the chamber 21 as shown by arrows 25, 26, 27. The pressure of the air in chamber 32 is maintained at a sufficiently higher point than that of the exhaust chamber 21, to hold the yarn firmly aaginst the wires of cage 22, so that winding off from the inner surface of the yarn is facilitated.

During the movement of the yarn cake axially upward, the various liquid chemical treatments and water washes are applied in the following manner:

Referring to Figure l the liquids are fed through a number of ducts, one of which is shown at 14, passing through the stationary post as indicated by 7, and opening at 35. The liquid emerges from this opening 35 under sufiicient pressure to cause it to impinge onto the inner surface of rotating member 5. The liquid is then caused to pass through perforations 42 in the wall of member 5 by the centrifugal force resulting from its rotation and is thrown onto the inner surface of the ribs of the reel 4, thence through the interstices between the windings of the yarn cake 3, thence from the outer surface of the yarn cake against the outer shell 1 into the gutter 2, from the gutter through spout 18 into the trough 19. Ad-

ditional ducts deliver other liquids as may be required in v the process at other points along the vertical travel of the yarn cake or store. It is to be understood that the number of ducts in the stationary part 7, the number of projections or ridges 6 on the inner wall of rotating member 5, and the number of collecting gutters on the inner wall of the outer shell depends on the chemical process used, being only two or three for the copper-ammonia rayon process and 6 to 8 for the viscose rayon process.

Operation of the thread advancing reel in the apparatus of my invention is fully described as follows:

A tubular member 7 is attached in stationary relationship to the machine base 13 and serves as a bearing and support for the rotatable tubular shaft 8 which is driven by rotary gears 15. Within shaft 8 are hollow shaft 9 and shaft 10 as shown. Shafts 9 and 10 are keyed to shaft 8 and thus are rotated thereby but are free to move axially with respect to shaft 8 during rotation. Alternate reciprocal motion is imparted to shafts 9 and 10 by the rocking action of arms 16 and 17 through pins 39 bearing in thrust collars 40 which are mounted on shafts 9 and 4 10. Arms 16 and 17 are rocked by shafts 41 which are activated by cams (not shown) so that as shaft 9 moves axially upward, shaft 10 moves axially downward and vice versa at approximately the same rate of speed.

One spider 20 is fixed to shaft 9 and the other to shaft 10. Thus the rotary and reciprocal motions of shafts 9 and 10 are transmitted to the alternate sets of ribs 4 through pins 45 which are fixed to the arm of spiders 20 and slide in inclined slots 46 in the upper ends of ribs 4. The axial movements of shafts 9 and 10 are greater in distance than the length of slots 46 as projected on the axis of shafts 9 and 10, therefore, ribs 4- are also reciprocated axially. The inclination of slots 46 causes ribs 4 to move away from the axis of shafts 9 and 10 as said shafts move upward and towards the axis as the shafts move downward. Therefore, as a yarn package is wound on ribs 4 of the reel one set of sixteen ribs, e. g. those ribs linked to shaft 9, are expanded radially, i. e. away from the axis of shafts 9 and 10, and thus engage the inside of the yarn package. Meanwhile the alternate set of ribs linked to shaft 10 are closer to the axis than the ribs linked to shaft 9 and so do not engage the inside of the yarn package. Since slots 46 are inclined as shown 'in Figure 1, shaft 9 is moving upward as the ribs linked thereto "are radially expanded and as shaft 9 continues to move upward the ribs linked thereto also move upward while engaging the yarn package. When shaft 9 moves to its most upward position, shaft 10 reaches its most downward position and the reciprocal motion of the shafts reverse causing the ribs linked to shaft .10 to expand and support the yarn package as shaft 10 begins to move upward and the ribs linked to shaft 9 to move closer to the axis and disengage the yarn package. Thus the yarn package is moved upward by the movement of ribs 4 independently of the rotation of the reel. The lower ends of ribs 4 are pivotably mounted on rings 38 by flexible hinge joints 37. Rings 38 are keyed to rotating tubular member 5 but are free to move axially as required by the axial movements of ribs 4.

The construction and operation of thread advancing reels of the type employed in this invention is well known in the art. (See, for example, U. S. Patent No. 1,052,125 to Boos.) Such reels have heretofore been used for the purpose of winding and advancing a single helix of yarn over the reel surface for continuous processing. In this invention it will be seen that a cake of yarn is conveyed from one end of the reel to the opposite end, for treatment at intermediate points in contrad-istinction to the method of conveying a single thread in one direction for the same purpose, as disclosed in the prior art.

The operation of the liquid treating means in the apparatus of my invention is fully described as follows:

Within fixed tubular member 7 are ducts 14 having outlets as shown in Figure 1. On the outside of member 7 is a rotating perforated shell 5 spaced from member 7 by hearing 47. Shell 5 is fixed to shaft 8 near the upper end thereof and has raised ridges 6 on its inner circumference to prevent axial movement of treating liquids. The rotary motion of shaft 8 which drives the thread advancing reel also imparts rotary motion to shell 5 causing treating liquid to be expelled through perforations 42 in shell 5 by centrifugal force. The expelled liquid is further forced through the interlace of the yarn package and into gutters 2, spouts 18, and troughs 19 as described hereinabove.

I claim:

1. A method for fluid treatment of yarn which comprises the successive steps of continuously winding a yarn in a cross-wound manner to form a yarn store, supporting said store from the inside thereof while said store is continuously rotated and advanced from the area where the step of Winding is effected, passing successive liquids from inside of said yarn store to the outside thereof as said store is advanced, supporting the advancing store from the outside thereof while continuously unwinding said store from the inside at substantially the same rate as the yarn is Wound and drying the yarn simultaneously with the step of unwinding.

2. An apparatus for fluid treatment of yarn which comprises in combination, means for winding a cross-wound multi-layer store of yarn, means for continuously advancing said store in one direction which is substantially parallel to the axis of said store, means to radially expel treating liquids in succession through said store as said store is continuously advanced and means to unwind said store from the inside thereof at substantially the same rate as said store is wound.

3. An apparatus for fluid treatment of yarn which c0m= prises a rotatable reel having a plurality of longitudinal ribs in two sets, means to radially expand each of said sets in alternation and move each set in one axial direction when said set is radially expanded, means to alternately draw each set of ribs toward the axis of said reel and return said sets to their initial position, means for winding a cross-wound store of yarn on the reel at the end of said reel from which the sets of ribs move when expanded and means to radially expel treating liquids in succession through the cross-wound store of yarn as said store is advanced on said rotatable reel by the alternate movement of said sets of ribs.

4. An apparatus for continuous successive fiuid treatment of yarn which comprises a rotatable reel having a plurality of longitudinal ribs in two sets, means to radially expand each set of said ribs in alternation and move each set in one axial direction when said set is radially expanded, means to alternately draw each radially expanded 6 set of ribs toward the axis of said reel and return said set to its initial position, means for winding a cross-wound store of yarn on the reel at the end of said reel from which the sets of ribs move when expanded, means to radially expel treating liquids in succession through the crosswound store of yarn as said store is advanced by the alternate movement of said sets of ribs, a rotatable cylindrical cage disposed outside of said reel in spaced concentric relationship thereto extending from near the end of said reel that is opposite to the end where said Winding of a yarn store is effected, to beyond said reel and means to force a current of air from the inside of said cage through a cross-wound store of yarn which is supported by said cage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,648,619 McKenzie Nov. 8, 1927 2,150,309 Atwell Mar. 14, 1939 2,247,389 Knebusch July 1, 1941 2,303,052 Kline et al Nov. 24, 1942 2,513,381 Truitt July 4, 1950 2,582,293 Stanley Jan. 15, 1952 2,588,415 Russell Mar. 11, 1952 2,634,596 Pendleton et a1. Apr. 14, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Marsden Textile Mfr., January 1953, pages 3-7 (see page 4 in particular). 

1. A METHOD FOR FLUID TREATMENT OF YARN WHICH COMPRISES THE SUCCESSIVE STEPS OF CONTINUOUSLY WINDING A YARN IN A CROSS-WOND MANNER TO FORM A YARN STORE, SUPPORTING SAID STORE FROM THE INSIDE THEREOF WHILE SAID STORE IS CONTINUOUSLY ROTATED AND ADVANCED FROM TEH AREA WHERE THE STEP OF WINDING IS EFFECTED, PASSING SUCCESSIVE LIQUIDS FROM INSIDE OF SAID YARN STORE TO THE OUTSIDE THEREOF AS SAID STORE IS ADVANCED, SUPPORTING THE ADVANCING STORE FROM THE OUTSIDE THEROF WHILE CONTINUOUSLY UNWINDING SAID STORE FROM THE INSIDE AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME RATE AS THE YARN IS WOUND AND DRYING THE YARN SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE STEP OF UNWINDING. 